Pokémon Go Players Are Getting Robbed in Missouri

Police from Missouri warn against the use of the new mobile craze “Pokémon Go,” claiming that some robbers are using it to lure victims into a trap.

The dream-come-true for most Pokémon fans is being twisted into something sinister and abused by some teenagers who use it as a means to do criminal activities and felony in Missouri.

At around 2AM on Sunday, police officers of O’Fallon, Missouri responded to a report about a robbery involving four locals aged between 16 and 18 years old. The teenagers were reportedly on-board a black BMW parked at a CVS parking lot.

According to the police, the suspects use the geolocation feature in the Pokémon Go app in order to see where their victims are. They also took advantage of the “Pokéstops” feature which allows players to earn more points.

“Using the geolocation feature the robbers were able to anticipate the location and level of seclusion of unwitting victims,” explained Sgt. Bill Stringer to The Guardian.

Pokémon Go also has a special “Lure Module” that allows the players to lure Pokémon to a Pokéstop. This is the same feature the robbers used to get their victims to an isolated place where they can rob them.

When officers arrived at the CVS parking lot, they found that the teenagers were trying to discard a handgun from the car. They were later identified as the suspects of robberies that occurred in St. Louis and St. Charles counties. All adult suspects were charged first degree robbery with a bond of $100,000 cash.

After this incident, the police is now warning Pokémon fanatics to be extra careful when playing the app especially when allowing strangers to monitor their locations.

“If you use this app (or other similar type apps) or have children that do we ask you to please use caution when alerting strangers of your future location,” the police said in an official statement.